My nasty ho of a heater-core

[inertia]

So I got this copper heater-core from a junk yard, right. Now I wanna' get all of this green azz corrosion off of it. How do I do that? Someone suggested using CLR on it. Someone else said hydrogen peroxide?!?. There was an article on this site at one time suggesting boiling with some other chemical, but I'm in an apartment and don't have the space or equipment to boil it and I'm not certain that that was to remove corrosion as much as just dirt and grime.

[[Oc]acaridans]

All of those things will work, you could even try muriaic acid,but its not going to remove all the crud that is on the inside...You would be better off buying a new one. I sell auto-parts heater cores are not that expensive.
Trust me your better off buying a new one.

[KaHNZa]

CLR would probably be the best. Just make sure to do it in a well ventilated area. Its gonna stink. BTW, Daniel(moderator) doesn't like language that you used. Any swearing or words that look or sound like swear words are not well tolerated. I would suggest you discontinue the use of the afore-mentioned words. Thank-You

[Colin]

Take it to a radiator shop and have them tank it.

[inertia]

That's a very good idea. Thanx. Sorry 'bout the diction.

[William]

try muriatic acid as long as there is no aluminum on the core at all, that will clean it real nice. It should eat the green stuff.

[inertia]

Where would I get some of that muriatic acid stuff? First I tried dihydrogen-monoxide and that did nothing noticeable. Then I tried CLR yesterday and it was a dud. Someone else suggested either vinegar and salt or lemon juice and salt so I used vinegar and lemon juice and salt and that was a dud too. I'm gonna' try toilet bowl cleaner w/HCl tonight.

I also called several auto repair places and asked if they knew of anyone who would tank a radiator. The only place I could find that actually did that sort of thing, 1 ) absolutely insisted on knowing what car it was it ??? and 2 ) wanted between $50-$60 for it.

[GERRY136]

muratic acid is very powerful liquid commonly used to etch/clean concrete, brick of residual mortar.
do not breathe the stuff and dont get any of it on plantlife or grass as it will quickly kill it. wil also burn ur skin so use rubber gloves. might want to try diluting with water 50/50 and increase acid content if need be.
can get it at most decent hardware stores.

[Ridenow]

Tell them it is for a 2001 Thunderbird, just do not tell them AMD, not Ford.

[Ridenow]

Ridenow (Jun 08, 2001 05:03 p.m.):
Tell them it is for a 2001 Thunderbird, just do not tell them AMD, not Ford.


Muratic acid can be found at most building supply stores, usually in or near the paint dept.

[WyrmMaster]

How big is it, id kinda like to go water cooled, without breakin the bank, and getting a free radiator is a good start. But i also want to fit it into a midtower. Could you post dimensions.

[William]

ok, Muriatic can be found at Wal Mart. It is pool acid. Avoid the fumes, it is 6M HCl, not exactly dilute stuff. I would say dilute it even more than 50/50. I part Muriatic to 6 parts water. and Muriatic Acid will clean concrete, will also eat through it if you are not careful ;D . Toilet bowl cleaner with HCl will probably work nicely too, but I am not sure of its concentration, maybe less than the Muriatic Acid. Also, Drano would be something to try. it has some strong bases in it that might get what the acids are missing. What you really need is some Nitric Acid as that stuff love copper, but I don't think you can buy it.

[inertia]

Well, I got some muriatic acid the other day at the hardware store (and some rubber gloves.) I took it home and tested it on a chunk of tube I had cut off of the radiator and in dilute concentrations it wasn't doing very much. I then tried the stuff straight and that worked in about 1/2 hour. So I filled up the radiator and ran some hot water across the fins just to get stuff moving. Let it sit there for some time and rinsed it out. I did this in the bathtub and ran A LOT of water while I was disposing of the acid. Now I've got a very clean radiator that has subsequently passed a leak test and the drain in the shower doesn't run slowly any more :)

[oc jason]

Pour a 2 liter of PEPSI on it-the carbonation should eat off omost of the green statue of liberty like corrosion. I use it to clean off my Batter cables.

[13oots2]

Was going to suggest the same as above. If Coke can clean up coins buried for 300 years, it can eat it's way through anything. Including your teeth. Drink with care. I believe it's the phosphoric acid.